Gary Pervier

Character History

Gary Pervier was a resident of the rural outskirts of Castle Rock, Maine, the primary setting for the novel. He is unmarried, lives alone in a semi-dilapidated house and is a World War II veteran who won the US Army's Distinguished Service Cross for charging a German machine-gun nest and leading his platoon to safety before collapsing from several bullet wounds he received. Pervier, upon returning to home, takes his full Army pension and retires, becoming a solitary alcoholic. His nearest neighbor and friend is Joe Camber. Gary generally abhors other people, the only other living creatures he can stand, in his own words, are Joe, his son Brett and their dog, Cujo.

In the novel

In the story we are introduced to Pervier shortly after Cujo suffers the bat bite that drives him rabid. Gary is sitting on his lawn on a hot summer day, drinking screwdrivers when Cujo appears. Always happy for a visit from the dog, Gary has Cujo catch dog biscuits out of the air. When Cujo sits next to him, Gary notices the scratch on Cujo's nose but thinks little of it, believing it to be a harmless injury the dog suffered while chasing rabbits in the woods. When Cujo seems to turn down one of the biscuits that Gary gave him, Gary is slightly puzzled and tells Cujo to eat it, which Cujo does. When Gary comes back outside after refilling his screwdriver glass, Cujo has left.

Gary talks to Joe Camber, who makes an offer; while his wife Charity & Brett are on vacation in Connecticut, they'll spend a weekend in Boston taking in a Red Sox game and visiting Boston's red light district to cavort with prostitutes. Gary enthusiastically agrees.

The morning they're supposed to leave for Boston, an extremely hungover Gary stumbles out of his house and urinates into the honeysuckle bordering his property. Cujo appears, now fully into his rabid state and growls menacingly at Gary. Gary recognizes instantly that Cujo is rabid, having seen a rabid dog years ago at a gas station. Gary tries to make a break for his house, however Cujo leaps on him, pinning the outweighed man to his porch steps. He viciously bites Gary on his shoulder. Gary is able to fight Cujo off long enough to get inside his front door and lock it. As he walks down the hall to call the police, Cujo breaks through the screen door and attacks Gary again, driving him to the floor, clamping onto his throat and savagely ripping it apart, killing him. Gary is found later by Joe Camber, who also tries to call the police but is killed by the dog as well.